"I have this little sister Lola. She is small and very funny."Thus begins We Are Extremely Very Good Recyclers, a small and very funny book about recycling from award-winning children's author/illustrator Lauren Child. After Charlie convinces Lola to recycle her old toys instead of throwing them … [Read more...]
Swap Stop
With Spring just days away, many of us immersing in a little Spring cleaning. But, before you toss that too-tight jacket, or ditch your kid's too-small boots, consider a swap party.I first heard about swap parties from a very hip friend who read about them in Vogue magazine. Vogue wrote about this … [Read more...]
What’s in a Name?
I read an article today about how people with the most -or least - common names around are forming alliances to "make a better name for their names". You can find an entire website devoted to the name Wendy (with members bonding over nicknames and sharing their favourite movie characters), and … [Read more...]
We Generation
I often find reason to reflect on how incredibly different my daughters' childhood will be than mine was. And it's not just cell phones and google or our relationship with technology that makes childhood different today; it's our relationship with childhood itself. Author Michael Ungar, … [Read more...]
His Current Obsession
Of course I love my children. And, like most moms, I think they are totally the bomb. But part of this is that there are things I truly admire about them. Things that are quirky and unique and represent something that sets them apart. These things, for the most part, are qualities that I didn't … [Read more...]
Addicted to History
Okay, how much of a geek am I?I am obsessed with...wait for it...HISTORY.I know! History???But I just can't help it. I actually think it's genetic. I remember -- as a kid, teenager, young adult -- noticing with dismay the bedtime reading on my Dad's bedside table (yes, Ali, it's … [Read more...]
“A Book is a Present You Can Open Again and Again”
My Aunt Barb once gave me a gift of a book and a package of adhesive book plates inscribed with this phrase:A book is a present you can open again and again.I cherished both the book (the complete and uncut hardcover version of Stephen King's The Stand: an extraordinary read) and the book plates. … [Read more...]
Books! Books! Books!
While by no means a new trend (ever heard of a newfangled thing called the printing press?), as resident trend watcher, I've done my research and talked to the experts to bring you a list (and a prize pack) of some of the hottest titles in children's literature for your holiday shopping. Shall we … [Read more...]
Inspiration. Aspiration. Expiration?
It's an odd thing, this desire to write. More to the point: to write and to be published. So many of us have it, and so few succeed. Are we drawn to criticism, failure and self-punishment? Or is the drive to express oneself and have that expression validated by others somehow universal? I often … [Read more...]
Promise of the Wolves
A while back, the nice folks at Simon & Schuster sent me this book: I've always had a soft-spot for fantasy and sci-fi, so I took a peek within. Here's how the promotional material read: WHAT IS THE PROMISE OF THE WOLF? NEVER CONSORT WITH HUMANS. NEVER KILL A HUMAN UNPROVOKED. NEVER … [Read more...]